EADS, parent company of Airbus, has been awarded a £13 billion ($26 billion) air refuelling tanker contract with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

The news comes less than a month after the company won a similar deal with the US Air Force.

The 27-year deal will see the EADS-led consortium AirTanker lease 14 Airbus A330-200s to the RAF and will provide up to 3,000 jobs at British sites, with thousands more in connected industries and services.

“The Ministry of Defence’s requirements are known to be highly exacting, and we are grateful that its trust has been placed in EADS and our consortium partners: Cobham, Rolls-Royce, Thales and VT Group,” commented EADS chief executive Louis Gallois.